Since we're not all military types, it's probably good to explain what a beachhead is before we talk about one. A beachhead is not where the beach begins, or a guy who just thinks about getting to the beach all the time. In wartime, a beachhead is very serious business. It's a small piece of ground you try to take as your first step in taking all the ground that your enemy holds. For example, during World War II, two of the world's greatest generals went against each other when the Allies set out to take North Africa back from the Germans. General Dwight Eisenhower, the commander of the Allied forces, planned to land and take three important beachheads. German general Rommel - the famous "Desert Fox" - basically said, "We must stop Eisenhower within 48 hours of his landing - or we won't stop him." They didn't stop him. And five months after Eisenhower successfully captured that first beachhead, Rommel had to flee and surrender everything, including 250,000 soldiers. But he lost it at that first beachhead.
Well, I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You about "The Battle For The Beachhead."
Satan, the commander of hell's forces, is determined to stop you from ever becoming what Jesus died for you to be. And like any smart general, he knows he has to stop you at that first breakthrough - before you gain any more ground. His strategy is revealed in our word for today from the Word of God, found in Mark 4:15, "Some people are like seed along the path," Jesus said, "where the seed is sown." Some people are like the seed along the path, where the Word is sown. "As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them." God's Word has landed in your heart, you're starting to gain some ground spiritually, and your enemy is alarmed. He comes immediately to try to take away the ground you just gained through God's Word.
It's important to understand that. It helps explain why things have suddenly gotten so tough, why things are going wrong, why you don't have the spiritual enthusiasm you did before. Your logical reaction is - "I've really been trying to do what God wants. What's wrong here?" The answer may be, "Nothing's wrong! It's because something's right!"
You have started to take a beachhead for God and the enemy is worried. So suddenly he's interested in you. He didn't have to bother you when you weren't a threat. But now he's got to get in there and make it hard, he's got to stop your forward progress fast, or there's no telling how much ground he's going to lose!
Satan gets busy whenever God has made a major landing in your life - he's got to stop the beachhead. Maybe you've recently made a new surrender of your life to Jesus, or you've said yes to His call on your life, or you've stepped up to leadership. Or it could be you've begun a new work for the Lord, made a new commitment to be the marriage partner or parent you should be, to give more to the Lord's work, to live by new priorities. And alarms are going off in hell.
But don't get discouraged; don't go back to the old ways. This is just your old enemy trying to stop this progress while it's new and fragile. If you keep going this way, he's going to lose big time - and he knows it. Just step up and launch a Biblical counterattack. In the words of James 4:7, "Submit yourselves to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Come near to God and He will come near to you."
The battle for the beachhead may be raging around you right now. Hold your ground, soldier. You're not losing - or the enemy wouldn't bother with you. You're on your way to some of the greatest victories of your life!